Back in 1972, I visited the former Soviet Union. I was a student at Goucher College and the trip was part of a class that took place during what was called January Term.

A group of us from Goucher joined a group from Rollins College in Florida and headed east. I took away way too many impressions to share at this time, but a couple weeks ago, I was discussing meal time with someone. It was while I was in Moscow and Leningrad that I realized what a key part of the day breakfast, lunch and dinner are for most — and not just because that’s when you fuel your body.

During our visit, in the absolute dead of winter, when it was so cold that you felt your bones were going to crack, food was tough to come by 39 years ago. Making matters worse, we were told not to drink the water. Not starved enough to consume borscht, we subsisted primarily on mineral water and bread — no seconds included.

I remember buying an orange for $1 in a theater one night when we attended a ballet. A bunch of us shared it. We managed to buy a bit of cheese at a store near our hotel, but communication was tough. We didn’t speak much Russian; the shopkeepers didn’t speak much English.

What happened was that eating quickly became nothing special. Who cared if we were stopping for lunch? There really wasn’t any lunch to be had. And pretty soon, you simply lost your appetite. I lost 10 pounds on that trip.

Things have changed since then, I’m sure, though I haven’t been back — and I certainly wouldn’t go again in January. But I can say that I have come to appreciate what meal time is all about, ever since then. Adding food to the mix spurs conversation and turns the ordinary act of eating into a destination, of sorts — something that’s anticipated and embraced.

Even if you’re eating at your desk during work, there is a bit of ritual to ordering food for delivery. Which deli is still serving soup is an oft-asked question where I sit in the newsroom. Pickin’s get pretty slim, the warmer it gets.

If you’ve brought your own midday meal to the office, lunch is still a time when people pause for a conversation, an exchange. And at the end of the day, food draws a family to the dinner table, not just to stave off hunger, but to share news of the day.

Take away the food element, and it’s amazing what happens. The day lacks an ebb and flow. It’s just one long stretch of hours that must be filled in some way.

And until you’ve been forced to go without, you don’t realize how much of a food culture exists in the U.S. I was in the hospital a few years ago and couldn’t eat anything for about a week. That’s when I noticed that almost every other commercial on television is for food of some sort. Not that I was very hungry at the time, but, again, going without, made me notice how much our lives revolve around the next meal or snack that lies ahead.

In general, we’re lucky. There are way too many places where food is too tough to come by. Even here, in our own back yards. Without it, your day can be empty in so many ways.

What’s your favorite meal? Do you prefer to cook at home or eat out? Feel free to share your thoughts with me at hack@siadvance.com or by calling at 718-816-8350.